Restore the Mississippi River Delta Unveils ‘Coast 360: A Virtual Day in the Delta’

NEW ORLEANS, La. (May 30, 2018) — This week, in conjunction with the State of the Coast Conference, Restore the Mississippi River Delta, a coalition working to protect people, wildlife and jobs by reconnecting the river and its wetlands, launched a high-quality 360-video experience that conveys issues of coastal land loss and the urgent need for coastal restoration. “Coast 360: A Virtual Day in the Delta” brings people to the forefront of Louisiana’s land loss crisis and showcases the urgent need for coastal restoration.

“While everyone can’t go on a coastal flyover, we are using creativity and technology to replicate that bird’s eye view experience,” said Steve Cochran, campaign director for Restore the Mississippi River Delta. “We want people to be able to understand and act on coastal land loss, so anything we can do to help people see it up close and personal really helps. Tools like Coast 360 are not just the wave of the future — they are key to telling the story of what the broad term ‘coastal restoration’ truly means.”

In this exclusive 360 experience, viewers will visit one of the areas of Louisiana’s coast actually gaining land, an active barrier island restoration project and a coastal community on the forefront of Louisiana’s land loss crisis. With an on-the-ground (and in the air) look at our coastal crisis, viewers will learn what needs to be done to restore and protect our coast, and, more importantly, why it matters.

For 7,000 years, the Mississippi River deposited sediment from 31 states and two Canadian provinces across the coast, forming a productive ecosystem that has provided critical wildlife habitat as well as vital storm protection for communities and industries. Louisiana’s wetlands are disappearing due to both natural and man-made factors. To date, Louisiana has lost 1.2 million acres of land and the state continues to lose a football field of land every 100 minutes. This land loss crisis is a national emergency affecting people, wildlife and jobs important to the entire country. Without action, Louisiana is projected to lose an additional 4,000 square miles over the next 50 years. As the delta disappears, so does the natural protection it provides communities from New Orleans to Cameron.

“The coast of the future will not look like the coast of today. However, if we act with urgency and use the resources at our disposal wisely, we can have a sustainable, protective delta,” continued Cochran. “But we need to act now.”

About Restore the Mississippi River Delta: Restore the Mississippi River Delta is working to protect people, wildlife and jobs by reconnecting the river with its wetlands. As our region faces the crisis of threatening land loss, we offer science-based solutions through a comprehensive approach to restoration. Composed of conservation, policy, science and outreach experts from Environmental Defense Fund, National Audubon Society, the National Wildlife Federation, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana and Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, we are located in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Washington, D.C.; and around the United States. Learn more at MississippiRiverDelta.org and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

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